What are the Odds?
by Paige Cruz
Summary: “There’s just too many I Love You’s nowadays… I wanted to change that.” She giggled as she stroked his ruffled, black hair. One shot.


**I'm BACK!**

**Whee! My first oneshot! hehe. PS. I spent all night till midnight working on this, and I don't want any of it put to waste. So I ask you, please REVIEW! XD I'll keep my hopes up!**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm happy, though I don't own Gakuen Alice. The all - powerful Higuchi Tachibana does..**

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What Are The Odds?

Summary: "There's just too many I Love You's nowadays… I wanted to change that." She giggled as she stroked his ruffled, black hair. One shot, guess who!

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A smiling brunette sat up from her bed and rubbed her eyes. She was greeted by the chilly breeze, as fall was coming to an end and winter taking its toll. The shades of gray and hues of blue blended perfectly in the sky, fluffy clouds framing the view. The wind blew harder as the remaining cherry blossoms flounced down to the ground. She shivered a bit, grasping her bed sheets. The cheerful 15 – year old was still half – asleep, seeing as though she was dreaming. 

_'Hm… Classes are suspended for today due to the weather. __And Christmas is coming!' _She thought sleepily as she dragged herself to the bathroom. _'Hm.. Today is.. November.. Something.' _She mumbled quietly. She turned the tap on and washed her face. She immediately jolted up.

"COLD! COLD!! COLD!!!" she jumped hysterically, grabbing a towel and rubbing her face repeatedly. As soon as she calmed down, she heaved a sigh and went back to her thoughts.

_'Hm.. now, where was I? Oh, right. November.. November.. 26?' _she went over to her closet and looked at the calendar. _'Thursday.. Thursday..'_ she uttered, pointing her index finger on the dates. "Ah, here we are. Thursday, November.. 27." She read aloud. _'Hm, I don't remember planning anything for today. Maybe a trip to central town will do.'_ She grinned widely, a puppy – eyed look glued on her pretty face. She took a quick shower, between loud shouts of 'COLD!' and got dressed in a pink sweater, jeans and sneakers. Then she made her way to the third floor, where a certain sleeping blackmailer's room was located.

"HOTARU!" She shouted from behind the door, her knuckles banging on it lightly.

No answer.

"HOTARU!!" She hollered louder, when the door suddenly opened and her so – called best friend shoved a pillow into her mouth.

"Idiot. It's 6 AM, and people are sleeping." She announced emotionlessly. Mikan spat out the pillow and whined.

"But.. But I want to go to Central Town!" She pleaded, her eyes watery. She was down on her knees, ready to cry a river. The girl scoffed at this sight, slightly irritated by her constant crying stunts.

The inventor paused for a while.

"No." She replied and shut the door tight. "Aw, Hotaru!" Mikan cried and sighed in defeat. _'She's so lazy these days.. Not wanting to go shopping with me!'_ she thought silently, walking her way towards the cafeteria.

"Humph! I'll go ask somebody else then..." She said triumphantly, a malevolent grin on her face. She stopped on her tracks. "…but who?" She placed her finger on her lower lip, wondering who in the world would agree to escort her. Wondering clueless, she continued walking her way towards the cafeteria. "Who… oof!" just then, she bumped a guy and fell flat on her butt.

"Ow, ow, ow!" She cried, rubbing her behind. She blinked hard and opened her eyes. "Natsume!"

She immediately stood up and apologized. "Sorry!" She spoke.

"Idiot." He whispered and continued walking. It's a good thing she was wearing jeans today, otherwise, he would act up as a pervert again. Still, Mikan felt a nerve growing. "Oh, shut up!" She retorted at his retreating figure. _'The nerve of that guy…'_ She pondered. _'But something's strange. Hey, wait a minute.._' She scratched her head furiously. Then it hit her.

"IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY TODAY!"

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It took a few seconds before the thought registered in her mind. "Hey, Natsume, wait up!" She shouted as she ran after him. He came to a halt and waited patiently for the slow brunette to catch up.

"What?" He said irritatingly.

"_pant_ Isn't it _pant_ your birth-_pant_-day_ pant_ today _pant_?" She gasped, her hands holding her knees for support. He didn't reply and continued his walk. "hey, wait!" She panted. "Is it?" she murmured softly. He looked back at her in the corner of his crimson eyes. "What's it to you?" he asked.

"A birthday is important!" She exclaimed, finally regaining composure. "It's a special day for you to celebrate!" She said knowingly. "Besides… the last time you celebrated was five years ago!" She spoke, remembering his belated eleventh birthday.

He just stared at her like as if she was some kind of maniac on the loose. "Whatever." He replied.

"Hey, I'm going to Central Town today. Maybe I can pick something up for you!" She smiled and yelled, making the boy cringe. "Do whatever you want, stupid loud girl." He turned his back and disappeared into the fog.

Mikan was still smiling, trying to figure out what would make Natsume happy, as she did every other birthday. To say it was tough to make him happy was an understatement. It would take years of loyalty and understanding to know what he would really like. She skipped her way to the bus stop, still pondering on the issue.

As soon as the bus arrived, she scrambled in the empty vehicle and sat behind the bus driver. "Ohayou, Sakura-san." He greeted. "Ohayou!" She replied cheerfully and sent him a smile. He grinned back.

"Central Town again, Sakura-san?" He asked out of the blue as the bus drove off. "Yep!" She answered quickly. "I'm off to buy a gift for Natsume! It's his birthday today!"

"Oh, Hyuuga-san's birthday is today?" he inquired. The brunette just nodded. "But I just realized that just now, so I'm hurrying to buy him something!" She said enthusiastically, throwing a fist up into the air.

"Though I really don't know what he'll like. He's unpredictable!" She sighed and looked out the window, watching the first snow flakes fall to the ground.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find something. Just you know it!" The bus driver answered happily. Then he pulled up. "Well, good day, Sakura-san!" he said, dropping the girl off and driving to the next stop. The brown – haired girl waved and proceeded to the shops. The cold weather streamed through her petite body, seeing as though she only had jeans and a sweater on. But that didn't hinder her high spirits.

"I'll find the perfect gift for him!" She said confidently.

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Meanwhile, the black cat was strolling along the school grounds, as many peers and onlookers greeted him a happy birthday. _'Tch. Yeah, right.'_ He thought flatly as he nodded to their greetings. He spotted a blond lad heading his way.

"Hey, Natsume!" He hollered from afar as his figure approached the raven haired boy.

"_pant_ Happy _pant _Birthday!" he said wistfully and handed him a package. "It's from Imai and I. I'll see you later at the classroom, we've got a meeting." He added, smiling and what not. "Well then, see ya!" he shouted and hurried away.

Natsume's jaw was wide open. He didn't even get a chance to speak. Oh well. '_Luca…'_ he mumbled as he carefully unwrapped the package. Inside was a new and improved Baka gun, courtesy of Imai Hotaru, and a simple note in Luca's handwriting.

_Happy Birthday!_

_Here's the thing, I haven't gotten you a real gift yet. This is only temporary. I spent a whole day chasing after Imai yesterday, I exhausted myself to sleep. Anyway, don't be late for the meeting._

_-Luca._

Wasn't he being a little too obvious? It was clear that he was throwing him a not-so-surprise party – not the best scheming he had in years. But knowing how Luca is, he could come up with clever tactics, but never perfect ones. Though since Imai's involved, it could happen. But, what?

He smirked and continued his journey towards God knows where.

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It was a long day. And it was pretty exhausting and tiresome for the young brunette to be running all over the local shopping district, hoping to find the perfect present for a certain fire alice, only to end up weak and out of ideas at the end of the day. It just wasn't her luck.

"ARGH!" She yelled frustratingly, cradling her head as she slumped down a bench, waiting for the bus to pick her up. "I spent hours around this place, and still, I'm empty – handed!" she exclaimed irritatingly.

She sighed heavily. "Well, I guess I'll have to give that something to him some other time…" She muttered. "Unless…"

"THAT"S IT!" She raised a finger and stood up abruptly. Just then, the bus pulled over. "Step on it! I'm on the roll!" She told the bus driver, and he did so.

"Why in such a hurry, Sakura – san?" He asked cautiously, careful not to over excite the young teen. "I've got the perfect gift, that's why!" She grinned and danced around.

"Sit down, Sakura! We're moving! And besides, I don't see any gift." He said, eyeing her through the mirror.

"Aw, gifts don't always have to be materialized! It's what comes from the heart that counts!" She said cleverly.

"But I don't think Hyuuga – san's that type of guy…"

"Well, we'll just wait and see then…!"

- - -

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The sun was almost setting, and still, Natsume hasn't arrived for the so – called meeting. An ecstatic Sumire paced back and forth, whining. "Where's Natsume – kun? He was supposed to be here an hour ago! Where could he be? Is he hurt or.."

BAKA. BAKA. BAKA.

Hotaru blew off the steam from her baka gun. "Shut up. Getting all exasperated won't do any good." She said. "Besides, you'll get frown lines." She smirked at Sumire, who was now patting her forehead to check.

"I'm starting to worry… Where could he be?" Luca looked out the window. Hotaru placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, he's fine." She reassured him. He grinned at her. "He's probably with that idiot right now anyway."

"WHAT?!"

"Usually, that idiot always ends up finding him first." The stoic inventor replied.

"Well, what are the odds of that?"

"Fifty – fifty."

"WHAT?!"

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"Natsume!" The hazel – eyed girl shouted as she ran around the forest. _'Sheesh, where could that guy be?! Why does he have to be so difficult?'_ She murmured annoyingly, thinking of all the hiding places he'd probably be at.

_'The Sakura Tree!'_

And she ran towards it.

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He was leaning on a tree, a Sakura tree as a matter of fact, his thoughts drifting away to a realm of dreams. He completely forgot about his 'meeting' with Luca and the others, but just couldn't help but relax under his favorite tree, especially that it reminded him of her. He could hear footsteps coming towards him, as he listened for the familiar shouts of the dense brunette. _'The idiot's here.'_

"Ah, Natsume!" She panted, stopping beside him. He just looked at her as she gasped for air. She did that often. "You've got to stop running like that, or you'd lose your breath and die… Polka dots." He said coolly.

"Eh?" She said, confused. Wow, what a moron – kidding. "Anyway, I've got it! I've got the perfect gift!" She announced, quickly dismissing the previous topic.

"And what is that?" he asked, not to curious about it.

"Well…" She said as she neared the now – sixteen year old lad. "What are you doing, little girl?" She had no reply but just went on smiling as she crept closer.

She tugged and pulled on his collar and their lips met.

A sweet, gentle embrace. She was on her tip toes. He was crouching a little. She wrapped her arms around his neck, him, a little baffled.

Then she pulled away, still smiling, her face flushed red.

"Well, I was thinking that there were just too many I Love You's nowadays… I wanted to change that." She giggled as she stroke his ruffled, black hair. Then she neared his ear and whispered, "Happy Birthday."

The black cat kept silent. A blush crept under his cheeks, though his rugged bangs hid them. Then he smirked. "Thanks, polka dots." The odds are, she found the perfect gift.

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The twosome were heading to the classroom. "A meeting, ey?" Mikan asked. "Yeah. Totally forgot about it." He replied. "Well, you better hurry up!" She said as she nudged him forward. "It's rude to keep company waiting, you know!"

As she opened the door, out came a bang, a 'HIPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!' streamer and hollers of, "SURPRISE!" which made the brunette freak.

Classmates and teachers alike were standing there, laughing, with confetti falling everywhere. "You… you guys!" Mikan shouted. "You almost shocked me to death!"

"It wasn't for you, idiot." Out popped the gluttonous inventor, with a slice of cake at hand. "Did you use it?" She inquired, facing the fire alice, referring to her baka gun. "Not yet." He simply replied.

"Haha, so, were you surprised, Natsume?" Luca came out and patted his friend at the back. He gave him a little smirk.

"What are the odds of that?"

END.

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**XD**

**Neh? What do you think? Hehe, this just popped out last night, before I fell asleep. Hope you enjoyed it! PLS. REVIEW!**

**Oh, and I promise I'll update my other stories once I'm done with school. Finals are approaching, and all but History is comprehensive! AHH!!**

**Well, ja!**


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